Cthulhu

Mythical Pets

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this week? Things here are pretty quiet, which is good. I can’t complain. But I still can’t muster up the motivation to write regularly. Definitely not attempting NaNoWriMo. I’ve just been slacking on every front except for reading. Even that’s kind of difficult since I pretty much hate one of the books I’m currently reading. And, as usual, I had no idea what to ramble about this week, so a friend told me to write about which mythical creature I’d want as a pet. “All of them” is apparently not an acceptable answer. Sadness. So, I whittled it down to three (kind of).

1. Cerberus and/or Fenrir. If you know me at all, this is the obvious answer. Why? Because puppers! Cerberus has always been one of my favorites. Her part in Garnets and Guardians (I should probably try looking at that one again now that I’ve had a couple of years away from it to see if I can fix it) is still some of my favorite writing that actually came from me. What’s not to love about a floofy pupper that guards the entrance to Hades? And all doggos need companionship, so I’d adopt Fenrir too. Poor dude just needs some love and cuddles, then maybe he wouldn’t be so hell bent on eating Odin. A giant wolf and a three-headed hound should be able to get along, right?

2. Dragon. I mean, who doesn’t want a dragon? I’m not even picky about the type of dragon. Something warm to cuddle in a cave with while we enjoy our hoards. What more does a girl need? But then I think about all the other reptilian creatures and I start to waver. A basilisk would be neat, but would require extra special care, so no one makes eye contact. I’d also love Jörmungandr (the world serpent). Why did Loki have all the cool kids? But mostly, I want a dragon.

3. Kraken! Actually, I’m quite fond of most of the water based mythical creatures. Hydra, kelpie, etc. I would say Cthulhu, but I don’t think an elder god would want to be my pet. Same for merpeople and selkies. But a kraken would be lovely and think of how good they are at hugs. They just get a little overzealous and break boats. But they could be fun. I’d just need to get a place by the ocean. It wouldn’t be fair to bring one to north Texas. Not enough water around here for the big baby.

I could keep going, but I don’t think anyone really wants me to keep rambling about the pet potential of mythical creatures. What about you? What kind of creatures would you want as a pet? As always, feel free to share your thoughts, comments, questions, or whatever here or on my social media pages!

One Shot Down

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing? Things are pretty much the same here. I’ve started crocheting again. I swear I will eventually finish this shawl and take pictures to prove it. I’m just annoyingly slow even when I work on it regularly. But it will get done. Writing is still fighting me, which is why I decided to crochet instead. At least I’m doing something. Reading and submissions are still happening regularly, so at least there’s that. Anyway, I mentioned last week that I was getting my first shot. I did! Dad takes our 92-year-old neighbor to get her second shot today and we’re scheduled for ours in a couple of weeks. So, I thought I’d ramble about vaccines today, since I have nothing else to talk about.

I wasn’t actually planning on getting vaccinated yet. The vaccines weren’t tested on people with any of the Muscular Dystrophies, so I admit that I was concerned about the lack of everything regarding people with disabilities. I don’t know if people with disabilities are prone to worse reactions. Don’t know the effects down the line. We know nothing. At least people without disabilities had some information about how it affects them in the short term. I had nothing to go on and zero desire to be a guinea pig. But at the same time, I wasn’t adamantly against it. I mostly just didn’t want to have to go to Fair Park (Dallas drivers and roads are horrible) to get something I didn’t really want in the first place. So, when I was able to get Dad scheduled close to home, I looked for one for myself.

Sadly, our Walgreens didn’t have any (our pharmacist probably would’ve brought it out to the van so I wouldn’t have had to risk being around people, because he’s cool like that), so we had to go to CVS. Dad’s was right down the street and mine was a few miles up the road. In case you missed it in my last post, if you’re trying to schedule an appointment via the CVS website, all I can tell you is to ignore their lists of availabilities and actually go through the process of trying to schedule an appointment, then try at least three or four nearby zip codes/cities (for some reason our closest pharmacy only showed up when I searched for Forney, a neighboring city, instead of our own zip code and the pharmacy I’m scheduled at only showed up under our zip code when it’s actually in Sunnyvale). Do this multiple times a day. And be prepared to be told that you can’t make the first appointment without making the second one too, which is sometimes available and sometimes not. That’s the most annoying part of the process, so far.

On the day of the appointment, CVS sent a text message with a link to check in. This was mostly annoying because they want you there early, but you can’t check in until 15 minutes before your appointment at the earliest. At that point, I already had my mask on, so I couldn’t see my phone in my lap to do it myself, which meant Dad had to check me in and he has a strangely hard time operating my phone for some reason. Otherwise, the whole thing was over within half an hour. Dude took my temperature and chatted with us until the guy came to get me for the shot, then we had to wait for 15 minutes to make sure I didn’t immediately die. Everyone was nice and friendly. People wore masks, including the customers that I noticed. They covered their noses and everything. I was actually a little impressed.

As I mentioned on my personal Facebook, I wore one of my Cthulhu shirts, my Yggdrasil bracelet, and my sparkly rainbow Cons. If an elder god, the world tree, and spiffy happy vibes couldn’t protect me against a bad reaction, I figure nothing could. It must’ve worked because my only reaction was the one I get with every shot: soreness around the injection point. But seriously, I just wanted an excuse to wear the bracelet and shoes. The shirt was just next in line. I’m aware the second shot is usually the one to cause problems. We’ll see how that one goes.

Anyway, all this post is really meant for is to help give people an idea of what to expect from CVS if they’re trying to get an appointment there. If you’re having doubts about the shots, you’re not alone. For all we know, they could be mass sterilizing us (I kid… kind of), but if it helps us not die from Covid, I guess that’s okay. I’m not going to judge anyone for not getting it until there’s more evidence as to its effectiveness and how long it actually lasts. But I will definitely judge you for not wearing masks. That is all.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!

Five Things I Couldn’t Live Without As A Writer

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy!  Lately, I’ve gotten back into a pretty steady writing and reading rhythm with this new book.  My current novel-in-progress is something I’m still excited about, even after the “new” has worn off.  I’ve also found a book that I’m enjoying reading, so that helps a lot.  But even though my writing rhythm has changed during this new process, there are still a few things that I couldn’t do without during my writerly time, things that have stuck with me through all of my writing processes.  I thought I would take a minute to share them with you.

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1.  Writing stints.  Most writers call them sprints, but that implies a race and I’m not comfortable with that since I type fairly slow.  Anyway, these are when I get together with a friend or two, we set word count goals for ourselves, then write for an hour, check in with each other, and start all over again for a second hour.  It’s not a regular thing anymore, but it really helps on those days when writing is hard.  And we don’t have to do it at the same time (though it’s more fun when we do), as long as we check in at some point.

2.  Eye candy or regular candy, I’m not picky.  Writing is surprisingly draining, so it’s important to refuel and relax occasionally.  For me, that includes music videos with my favorite pretty males.  Chocolate also helps.  And yes, I totally use the post-writing haze as a rationalization to objectify people (males and females alike) and indulge in sweets.

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3.  Specific t-shirts.  I swear I’m not one of those people who have a writing outfit or something like that, but I do have a few shirts that seem to improve my writing mood.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to write when they have Cthulhu on their chest?  I tend to be more productive when I’m wearing either of my Cthulhu shirts.  My Little Mermaid shirt is also showing promise given how much I achieved the last time I wore it.  Some shirts just seem more energizing than others.  Don’t judge me until you try it.

4.  Mirrors.  This is probably just a weird quirk of mine, but I have trouble focusing when I can’t see what’s going on around me.  The easiest way for me to do that is with mirrors.  If I hear a funny noise behind me, I only have to glance to either side to see what it is.  It cuts down on excuses for me to turn away from my computer when I’m working, which helps when I’m looking for a reason to avoid writing.

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5.  A severe dislike of phone calls.  Focusing on writing is so much easier when you have zero desire to make a call or answer a ringing phone.  I don’t mind texting, but admit that I don’t answer them right away when I’m writing or reading or eating or unless it’s some kind of emergency… no wonder people rarely text me.  Anyway, being an introvert helps with writing time.

What about you?  What are five things your writerly or artistic side couldn’t live without?  Feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!

See you next week!